The Royal Film Commission Jordan | The 3rd Film & Television Careers Connection Warps Up: The Place Where Cinema and TV Professionals Meet

25/09/2017

The Film & Television Careers Connection (FTCC), organized by the Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) for the third year in a row, concluded yesterday. The event was held from Friday 22nd until Sunday 24th of September at the RFC’s Film House located in Jebel Amman.

The event, tailored around careers and jobs in the audiovisual industry, aims to bring together organizations, companies, freelancers and film students to network, thus enhancing efforts in the domain of film and TV employment.

Following the success of the last two editions of the FTCC, the opening day witnessed a significant presence of people interested and/or working in cinema and television. The first day kicked off with the “First Steps into Filmmaking”, a workshop conducted by Tima Shomali, Jordanian producer, writer and comedian, who shared some tips with the participants on how to succeed and develop oneself in the filmmaking industry. The program also included a session on the role of hair & makeup artists in films, a discussion with producers Charles Howard and Dan Halperin from the Producers Guild of America (PGA), a workshop on costume designs in cinema, an introduction to the digital technology of “Alexa” cameras delivered by representatives from ARRI Company, a “Safety on Set” course, a presentation about film opportunities offered by the Doha Film Institute (DFI), an open discussion with Jordanian directors Aseel Mansour, Darin Sallam and Tima Shomali.

The FTCC seized the opportunity of the presence of Hollywood producers and studio managers - who were taking part in a familiarization tour around Jordan – and hosted them to talk about the industry in the United States and specifically in Hollywood.

A session was devoted to the Jordanian comedian Nabil Sawalha, who delivered an emotional speech about the power of laughter and how it reduces stress. A musical performance by a group of Jordanian musicians wrapped the day, with a composition by Tarek Younis and Tarek Jundi, while a short film about Amman was screened outdoors.

On the second day, 23 September, three workshops - from script to wrap - tackled the following subjects: production design, cinematography and location management.

The RFC’s Managing Director, George David, along with a number of staff members had an interactive conversation with the attendees. They presented the Commission’s departments, explained about the services and activities offered, and also answered the audience’s questions and listened to their suggestions. Commenting on the FTCC, David said: “This event is in line with the RFC's efforts to train people and create jobs in the audiovisual sector." He added, “The Commission has also launched, within the framework of this event, a database for people involved in filmmaking.”

The rest of the functions continued with several talks: one delivered by Jordanian comedian Ahmad Ghanem (Abu el Ghor), another by the entrepreneur Sima Najjar, and by Mohammad Salah, who works on digital media and online platforms. A session focused on drone technologies, and another one on film education versus hands-on film training and finally a workshop on acting as a career conducted by Jordanian actress Nadira Omran.

On the last day, a number of workshops introduced participants to the arts of editing, sound, stunts and music composition for cinema and television. While another training session focused on crowd funding for cinematic projects. The RFC and MAD Solutions got the chance to promote for the Amman International Film Festival – Awal Film Festival, whose first edition is to take place in June 2018. Moreover, an online session was held explaining how to draft a budget for a film project. Finally, top film figures in the Middle East shared their experiences in their specific country, shedding light on available opportunities: the Palestinian producer and director Hanna Atallah, the Moroccan Ahmad Araib, the raqi cinematographer Salam Salman, the Arab film analyst Alaa Karkouti and the Jordanian filmmaker Abdelsalam AlHaj.

On another note, closed pitching sessions - in the form of one-on-one meetings - were held on the second and third days between production companies and organizations participating at the FTCC with the aim of networking and discussing potential cooperation.

It is worth mentioning that the FTCC is open to the public and included 32 companies making the number of exhibitors the largest this year. The 3rd edition of the connection was supported by Bank al Etihad, Arab Telemedia Group, Kind Abdullah ll Fund for Development, Landmark Amman Hotel, Food Ex, Greater Amman Municipality, International Traders – Zaman Project Management, Iris Guard, Solidarity First Insurance, Lujain Rent a Car, Payless Car Rental, Play 99.6 FM, Radio Sawt el Ghad Jordan and Ro’ya TV.

The Royal Film Commission – Jordan (RFC) is a public institution, with administrative and financial autonomy, established in 2003 with a mandate to promote for and contribute to the development of an internationally competitive Jordanian audio-visual industry. The RFC organizes training workshops, screenings and provides production support services.